2. Emery pincushion. This speaks for itself. Using an emery pincushion will keep pins and needles sharp.
3. Good scissors with a sheath. I prefer Gingher brand. I have a pair of shears as well as their tailor scissors that cut right to the tip.
4. Ergonomic rotary cutters in 3 sizes. I have the 48mm, 28mm and the new 18mm cutter. I not only use these to cut bias strips but also to cut out patterns.
5. KK-2000 temporary adhesive spray by the Sulky Company. I use this in place of pins for holding patterns in place while I cut them out. It holds without puckering.
6. Rotary rulers in different sizes. I also quilt so I probably own just about every size known to man. I can say I like the accuracy of the Omni Grid rulers and the yellow and black markings make it easy to use these with any fabric. These are a must for cutting bias strips for binding or knot work. I think every sewing room should have the following 3 sizes: 3" x 18", 6" x 12", and 6" x 24"
7. Rotary Mat, as large as you can afford. I think the 2 best brands on the market are Omni Grid, Dritz, and the red omni mat available through Quilting from the Heartland. These are self-healing and do not dull your rotary cutter.
8. Marking pens and pencils. I have an assortment of these and have found that each has a place in my sewing room. I prefer a Chaco liner, which is a plastic container with a wheel at one end and filled with a non-staining chalk dust. My second choice is non-wax tailors chalk. My third choice is the water erasable pen. Do not confuse the water erasable pen with the disappearing purple pen. Do not use the disappearing pen as it can damage fabric. I took a class from a teacher who knew of a woman who had used this to mark an heirloom quilt she had made for the first girl baby born into a family in many generations. After a few years, she took the quilt out of storage and every place the pen had been used to mark the heirloom quilt, the fabric behind had disappeared. Needless to say, the woman was devastated.
9. Seam ripper. I like the Havel Seam ripper with the replaceable blade. Since I started using this type of seam ripper, I have not once ripped into the fabric as these are so sharp, you need not apply pressure to "unsew´any seam. These are also sold in medical supply stores as field scalpels.
10. 2" x 18" artist's plastic ruler for drawing designs and copying patterns onto pattern paper. You can get these rulers in fabric stores as well as art stores. This ruler will give an accurate line when copying and drawing as opposed to the thick rotary rulers. The tip of the pen or pencil can get next to the ruler.
11. Fine tipped pen and a mechanical pencil. These are a must to use with multi-sized patterns. These are also a must when using a pattern such as Kwick Sew and Irish Threads master copies. NEVER cut your master.
12. Pattern paper. Once again, make a trip to the medical supply house, or ask your doctor to order you a roll of examination table paper. It is of good weight and is opaque enough to see through to copy designs and patterns. It will also take dry heat. I use this paper to make my transfer designs.
13. Sulky transfer pens. I have black, white and an assortment of colors. If the design is going to be satin stitched in black, I use black. If the fabric is dark, I use white so I can see where the appliqué is to go. These are wonderful products. Just make sure you keep them separated from your regular pens.
14. Thread Heaven. This is a new product for hand and machine sewing. It removes the static from thread for hand sewing. I use it in place of beeswax, which can stain fine fabrics.
15. Machine needle threader. You can get a needle threader from your local Husqvarna/Viking dealer. You can use this threader for threading sewing machines and sergers. Be sure to have the sales person show you how to work it. You need not own a Husqvarna/Viking machine in order to use it on your machine.
16. French curve ruler. This is a must for working with patterns to re do curves. I did not realize how much I would use this until I was given one.
17. Flexible curve. You can find this notion in some fabric shops; however, I purchased mine in the drafting department of my local Office Depot. You can use this notion to exactly duplicate any curve accurately.
18. Q-tip swabs and alcohol. This is not for antiseptic use. A little alcohol on a swab acts as a dust magnet for cleaning the bobbin area of the sewing machine. I also use a scrap piece of fabric with a little alcohol to clean any sticky residue from my embroidery hoops.
19. Hand held vacuum cleaner with attachments. My favorite vacuum for this purpose is the Shark by EuroPro. Along with the attachments I can clean my entire sewing area of lint, thread and dust easily and quickly. This is a must have in my opinion.
20. A one-pint empty plastic water bottle with lid. At the top of the bottle, cut a slot like what you would find in a piggy bank. Use this to safely dispose of all sharps in your sewing room. Use it for used rotary blades, bent pins, needles and anything else you need to dispose of that is sharp. In some cities, you can be fined if you do not properly dispose of sharp objects. This works great and can be stored easily. When ready to dispose of the entire bottle, use duct tape to secure the opening and put into the trash for pickup.
I hope you will give some of these tools a try and see for yourself how well they work in your sewing room. I would also like to hear from you about your favorite tools that you could not be without. Just e-mail me and I will try the tool as well and then give my opinion of the tool.
I, like most artistic-minded people, am VERY opinionated. I know what works best for me and what I like. I absolutely love working with Madeira Supertwist 30 weight thread. The metallic thread that is a dream to work with is Superior Thread. It is 40-weight thread, which makes it finer. My last choice is Yenmet. It is also a 40 weight and therefore finer than the Madeira thread.
No matter what type of fabric you are working with, the set up is the same. Lot's of teachers and seamstresses insist on using a Sullivan's Metafil needle or Schmetz Metallica needle. I use neither. I happen to use a Schmetz Topstitch needle whenever I use metallic threads. I use a size 90/14 with the Madeira Supertwist thread and a size 80/12 with the finer threads. The needle has a bigger eye and a deeper groove in the shaft than Sullivan's Metafil or Schmetz Metallica. Since I have switched to the top stitch needle, I have experienced very few thread breaks or shredding.
1. Take the bobbin area of your machine apart and clean it. DO NOT use canned air on any machine. It tends to just blow the lint and dust further back into the arm of your machine. You would be surprised how a little piece of lint can affect the hook and race of a sewing machine. If you do not know how to take apart your machine, ask your dealer. I know how to take apart and clean Husqvarna/Viking machines only. Purchase some Q Tip brand swabs for your sewing room along with a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Take a swab and get it wet with the alcohol and use it as a lint magnet. Alcohol dries so fast that it will not affect your machine. Once your machine is cleaned to your satisfaction, put it back together.
2. You will need a 60 or 70 weight thread to use in the bobbin. You do not need to match the thread to your needle thread. I use YLI Lingerie/Bobbin thread in either white or black depending on the fabric color I am sewing with. If the fabric is medium to dark, I use black. If the fabric is a light to a medium, I use the white. The YLI thread is a 70 weight. The other bobbin thread I use is the 60 weight 2 ply 100% cotton thread by Mettler. It is a great thread and comes in black and white as well as colors. It can be used very successfully in heirloom sewing as well.
3. Wind your bobbin. If you are going to do tons of embroidery or decorative stitching, sit and wind several.
4. Now, for the taming of the metallic thread. Place your metallic thread on an UPRIGHT spool pin, having it feed off of the backside of the spool. If your machine has only horizontal spool pins, place the metallic thread in a bowl behind your machine and then thread as normal. Metallic thread is just that, metal, tinsel or Mylar which will become kinked when feeding horizontally off of a spool pin.
5. Now, thread your machine as you normally would.
6. You need to adjust those tensions, even if you have a machine with automatic tensions. You need to LOOSEN the needle tension only.
7. Take a piece of the fabric you will be working on-if it is 2 layers, then, by all means use 2 layers of the same fabric. If it is interfaced, use the same weight of interfacing. Got the picture?? I use only Tear Easy stabilizer by Sulky for my decorative stitching. In most cases, you will only need to use one layer for stabilizing the fabric.
8. Select the stitch you plan to use. Sew a 4 to 6 inch line of the stitch. Cut the thread and remove the fabric from the machine. Looking from the front side of your work, can you see any of the bobbin thread peaking through to the top layer? If so, you will need to LOOSEN that needle tension some more. Sew another line of stitches and see if that solved the problem. If you can still see the bobbin peaking through to the right side of your work, LOOSEN the tension once again. Sometimes, you may have to LOOSEN needle tension to almost nothing. You should not be able to see any bobbin thread pulling to the right side of your work.
9. Turn your work over; you should be able to see the needle thread pulling slightly to the back of your work. This is what you are after. Once the sample is to your satisfaction, attach the sample to an index card and write down the brand of the thread, needle size, settings, and stitch number. Keep this in a recipe file box for future reference.
10. When using metallic threads in decorative stitching, a smooth steady pace is a must. DO NOT gun the machine. DO NOT go fast then slow then fast. These will definitely cause thread to shred and break.
If you are using an open lacy stitch, make sure you go at a medium rate of speed.
2. Due to the amount of embroidery and appliqué, the silk needs to be completely interfaced. I use HTC, 100% combed cotton fusible interfacing. I have a Euro-Pro ironing system that has a suction board as well as a steam generator. I steam the wrong side of the silk by holding the steam iron just above the fabric; this will shrink the silk without loosing the luster. I next fuse the interfacing to the silk using lots of steam, but no press cloth. If you have a steam generator, you can use a lower temperature and no press cloth. If you are using a regular iron, you must use a press cloth, as you need to use a higher temperature of the iron. Do start from the center with a lift and press motion (not an ironing motion) and work to each side of the fabric. This will give the silk a crispness to withstand embroidery and appliqué.
Microtex/Sharp - This is the needle I use for most of my regular dress/garment construction. It is super sharp like a denim/jean needle and works wonderfully well on those micro fibers - tencil, lightweight sheers, etc.
Jean/Denim - This is another super sharp needle but had added strength in the shaft. It has been super heated to withstand heavy use.
Universal - this needle can be used on almost all fabrics. It has a slight rounded tip for use on knits as well as woven fabrics.
Stretch - This needle has a little more of a rounded tip, but not as rounded as a ballpoint needle. I use this on stretch fabrics as well as using it in my machine for home embroidery. Unlike an embroidery needle, which has a sharper point and can cut the fabric, the slight round tip on the stretch needle will slip through the weave of the fabric without cutting.
Jersey/Ballpoint - This needle is for cotton and interlocking t-shirt type knits. I seldom use this needle as I have found the stretch or universal needle will suit my needs.
Metallic/Metallica - These are made for use with metallic threads. The needle eye is larger and there is a groove that runs the length of the shaft of the needle to accommodate the thread.
Topstitch Needles - These are made for use with topstitch threads. However, I have found that this is the ideal needle for use with metallic thread. The eye is even larger than you will find on a metallic/Metallica needle and the groove in the shaft is much deeper. I have minimal thread breakage with this needle.
Embroidery - This is the needle that I use for satin stitching. The eye is somewhat larger and there is a slight groove in the shaft of the needle to accommodate decorative thread.
Quilting - This needle is used for the actual machine work when quilting a piece of your work. I have not had much experience with this needle as I send my work out for quilting.
Leather Needle - This needle will actually pierce the fabric. NEVER use it on fabric. It is made specifically for use on REAL leather.
Twin Needle -Tthis needle can be used for several different applications. One of the better-known applications is stitching down quick bias in one pass. When using this needle, please reduce speed. If you go full out while sewing with this needle, you will experience thread breaks.
Wing Needle - This needle is used in the heirloom world quite extensively. It is used for making hemstitching and other types of decorative work.
On average, you will use a size 80/12 or 90/14 needle for most applications. Size 60/8 and 70/10 needles are used mostly in heirloom work with finer threads and fabric.
When I have taught in the past, I have told my students to use the correct needle for the job you are doing. You also need to use the smallest needle to accommodate your thread and fabric.
When I do all of my satin stitching, I usually use a size 90 topstitch needle and I am normally using a size 20 to 30 thread. It works great. If I am sewing a basic garment from medium weight cotton, I am probably going to use a size 80 Microtex needle with a size 50 (standard weight) sewing thread.
When I do piecework on quilts, I use either a size 80 Microtex or jean/denim needle. You will get a sharper seam with this needle.
When working with invisible thread-sewing beads, or couching cording to fabric-I use an embroidery needle. Loosen the thread tension and you should not experience thread breakage. You should also go at a consistent medium rate of speed.
Experiment and see what works for you. As I said-these tend to work for me and I hope it will work for you as well.
1. Back all metallic fabrics with Handle Textile Corporation 100% cotton fusible interfacing. I purchase mine by the bolt from my local Walmart as I have yet to find it less expensive on the Internet.
2. Iron your fusible web to the interfaced side of the fabric.
3. Mark your appliqué pattern on the RIGHT side of the metallic fabric.
4. Use a "hot knife", stencil burner, or wood burner with a very fine tip and "cut" the fabric. The heat from the tool will melt the edges, sealing the metallic fabric and you will find that it will not ravel.
5. You will have to finish cutting through the interfacing with scissors as the heat of the tool will not "cut" through the cotton. Finish applying the appliqué as you normally would.
6. With the new textured metallic fabrics- such as the satin lame and the textured "rocky" lame fabrics, this method works extremely well. I have not encountered the raveling associated with lame. I use this method cutting all metallic fabric including the confetti dot and the reflections fabrics.
I sincerely hope that you find this technique helpful. Keep coming back for more information. If you would like to share an idea, feel free to e-mail me at NAmos1031@aol.com with the information.
